Trade Republic: German bank and broker for European Union residents

Trade Republic Bank GmbH is a German credit institution supervised by the federal authority BaFin. Cash falls under the German statutory deposit guarantee scheme (Entschädigungseinrichtung deutscher Banken), up to up to €100,000³ per client and per bank.

The way cash is held is more complex than a simple bank account: according to the help page, cash is spread across several partner banks in trust accounts, each protected up to the same limit, and part of large balances may be placed in money market funds. These funds are held separately, like securities: the deposit guarantee no longer applies to them, and their value is not guaranteed.

Securities held in the account belong to the client and are kept separate from the bank's assets. They are not covered by the deposit guarantee.

We did not find, on the official pages consulted, any citable mention of the investor compensation ceiling applicable to securities if the bank were to fail.

Trade Republic does not charge a brokerage commission, but an external settlement cost of €1² per transaction, whatever the size of the order, plus spreads and third-party costs. Savings plans are exempt.

Custody of securities and account keeping are free: €0¹. The website states that you can invest from from €1⁴.

The interest rate on cash varies and depends on conditions (cap, client status) that change over time: we do not publish it as a stable figure. Card and withdrawal fees are shown in the price list and should be checked when signing up.

• The country of permanent residence: moving outside the published list makes the client ineligible, and closing or transferring the securities account must then be planned.
• US status: US nationality or US tax liability, even secondary, bars access.
• Currency: the account is held in euros; income in other currencies, such as foreign dividends, is converted.
• Taxation: withholding taxes and the tax documents provided depend on the declared country of residence; declaring the foreign account remains the client's responsibility.